Two Can Play This Game
by Eredis
Summary: Eli Goldsworthy could find ways to get under Clare's skin even when he wasn't there. This she found out as she edited his story for English. But Clare knows just how to retaliate. What happens when their stories aren't as fictional as they seem? Eclare.


**A/N: Hey readers, as you can see I decided to write another one-shot :D The positive feedback for my first Eclare one-shot was so amazing that I decided to write this. Maybe you can expect more Eclare fics from me in the future? We'll see ;) I think that the title for this one is total crap though, haha. **

**Anyways, just want to let you know that this is inspired by that scene in "My Body Is A Cage Pt. 1", when Eli and Adam are talking and Clare hands him back his English paper. It's loosely based on that scene. Keyword: _loosely. _I changed it up, so the scene won't be like it was in the show. Enjoy ;)**

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Eli Goldsworthy could find ways to get under Clare's skin even when he wasn't there. This she found out as she edited his story for English. The main character of his story, 'coincidentally' named Clara Edwin, was an intern at a well known law firm. This wasn't what bothered her; what bothered her was that Clara Edwin had a 'thing' for her boss, who's name just _happened_ to be Elliot Goldwin.

Elliot, although amused by Clara, would try to keep his distance from her, since a relationship between them would be wrong. Still, Clara would never miss the chance to flirt with her boss or be all over him -like a floozy, might Clare add- whenever the opportunity presented itself. Clare could perfectly imagine the smirk on Eli's face as he wrote this paper.

He could be so irritating sometimes, but she never got seriously annoyed with him. She knew that he did it on purpose, like it was his everyday goal to find new ways to irk her. Still, she's seen a different side of him. The side who helped her through her parents' marital problems, the side that made her heart flutter and the butterflies to go haywire in her stomach.

What infuriated her though, was that she hadn't figured him out yet when he pretty much had her pegged down. His comments could go from flirty to plain friendly in a matter of seconds. _Boys can be so confusing, _she sighed.

She rolled her eyes as she continued to read Eli's story, but she couldn't help but being just the least bit amused. Two could play this game, she thought. Ignoring the fact that she had already written her story -she'd given it to Eli so he could revise it- she opened a blank document on her computer and started to type. Eli would just have to revise this one tomorrow before English.

...

It was fifteen minutes before the bell rang, and Clare made her way determinately to English class, Eli's English paper and hers clutched in her hand. As she walked down the hall, she saw Eli talking to Adam by his locker. Perfect timing.

She saw Eli's line of vision switch from Adam to her as she walked toward him, and she couldn't help the sudden leap her heart made or the sudden desire to smile. _Stupid teenage hormones...Now's not the time!_

She suppressed the smile. "Edited your story. And I don't exactly approve of this Clara Edwin character."

He held back a smirk; he knew he'd gotten to her. "How so?"

"Well, for one thing, she acts like a _floozy._"

He merely shrugged at her comment as she handed him his paper back.

"Oh, and about _my_ story, I changed my mind and decided to write another one. I'm not handing in the one I gave you yesterday, so you should check this one before class," she said as she pushed her new paper into Eli's hands.

Without another word, Clare walked past Eli, a sly smile on her face. Eli watched her walk into the classroom, an amused smirk on his face as he looked at her English paper.

"You two give me the runs," Adam said.

"I think it's entertaining," Eli said, glancing at Adam and back to the paper, "Anyway, have fun dancing with cute...Wait, are there any cute girls in Remedial Gym?"

Adam said something about Bianca being hot, but Eli's attention was now directed at Clare's paper. It had definitely sparked his interest, so he just replied to Adam with a sarcastic remark, made his way into the English classroom and sat down, so he could read in peace.

_So I made her show her feisty side again, _Eli thought as he read, and chuckled to himself. He liked when Clare showed her feisty side, but he liked it even more when _he _was the one who provoked it. Her paper was about an Elias Greensworth, an arrogant college student who spent most of his time wooing the barista from the college café. The barista's name was no other than Claudia Swardds, and though she found Elias mildly intriguing, his tendency to irk Claudia and send her mixed signals made Claudia think nothing of each of his attempts.

As soon as he was finished, he turned around in his seat to look at Clare, a bemused smile playing on his lips.

Clare gave him a small smile. "Well? Thoughts?"

Eli put on a fake pensative look. "Hm, thoughts? Well, I don't know, but this Elias character seems oddly familiar...Only this one seems too much of a douche."

Before Clare could reply, he began again. "I don't think I approve," he said, re-using her earlier statement.

A smile appeared on her face, and the way she talked evidently showed that she thought she was going to get her way. "Oh, so you don't approve? Well maybe if you were to change that Clara Edwin character from _your _story, I'd change Elias in mine."

Eli pretended to think about it, but his mind was already set. "Nah, I don't think so. Guess I'll just have to live with it."

Her smile faltered a bit. She had thought that they were going to reach some sort of agreement, but apparently, she was wrong. "Wha- Why not?"

"Cause, Elias isn't that bad. He's just trying to win over Claudia, who is _obviously_ into him. She just doesn't want to give him the satisfaction of admitting that he was right all along, that she wants to date him as much as he wants to date her. She's in denial. Simple as that."

Clare gaped at him slightly, and she hoped her face didn't look as hot as it felt. She had to prove him wrong _somehow, _even if he was sort of, maybe, right. "N-no. You're way off point. Claudia _isn't_ in denial! She just doesn't know what to make of everything Eli does! He keeps sending her mixed signals, like first he's all flirty but he suddenly acts distant. It's as if he doesn't want anyone to get too close to him."

Eli ignored that last jab and decided to use another tactic. "You _are _aware that you said Eli instead of Elias, right?"

Clare finally acknowledged her slip up, and her cheeks turned scarlet. She had no idea how to reply, Eli could tell, so he simply smirked as he pressed matters further.

"Maybe...Claudia just needs to go with flow. She should go out with Elias to somewhere like, I don't know, The Dot after school?"

Clare could tell they weren't talking about Claudia and Elias anymore. She smiled shyly before replying. "Yeah, Claudia would like that."

Their conversation was interrupted when Ms. Dawes walked into the classroom. The rest of the class was uneventful, but Clare couldn't wipe the small grin off her face. She'd thank Ms. Dawes for the rest of her life.

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**Reviews are obviously welcome *wink wink* I love reading your thoughts, so if you can, review! Cause reviewing makes you even more awesome ;) **


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